Patch Notes (January 24)

Rexxar

Movement Speed has been increased from 100% to 115% when Misha has been issued an order to attack targets or when she is by Rexxar’s side.

Abilities

Misha, Attack! (D) / Misha, Follow! (D)

Removed

Misha, Focus! (1)

Moved to the Trait button (Default Hotkey: D)

Self-casting Misha, Focus! now calls Misha to Rexxar. Once she reaches Rexxar, she will go to her neutral state.

Talents

Level 1

Survivalist Training (Passive)

Removed

Grizzled Bear (Passive)

Moved to Level 4

Renamed to Grizzled Fortitude

Added functionality:

Block charge gain rate increased from 5 to 7 seconds

Added functionality:

Rexxar now gains the Block charges in addition to Misha

Hunter-Gatherer (Passive)

Moved to Level 4

Regeneration Globes required to complete the quest decreased from 30 to 20

Rexxar's Health Regeneration amount increased from 1 to 1.25 per second

New Functionality:

Upon Quest completion, Rexxar and Misha now gain 10 Armor

Flare (Active)

Cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds

Reveal duration increased from 5 seconds to 20 seconds

Bird of Prey (Q)

Bonus damage reduced from 200% to 150%

Now only does bonus damage to enemy Minions

Level 4

Easy Prey (Passive)

Moved to Level 1

Crippling Talons (Q)

Slow amount increased from 40 to 50%

Taking Flight (Q)

Added functionality:

If Spirit Swoop hits an enemy Hero, the cooldown is also reduced by 2 seconds

New Talent: Animal Husbandry (Passive)

Rexxar and Misha gain 2 Maximum Health every second Rexxar remains alive. These bonuses are lost on Rexxar's death.

Level 7

Blood of the Rhino (E)

Removed

Bird of Prey (Q)

Moved to Level 1

Level 13

Bear Necessities (W)

Removed

Barkskin (W)

Removed

Aspect of the Hawk (Q)

Added functionality:

Misha Basic Attacks now increase the duration of the Attack Speed buff by 0.5 seconds

New Talent: Dire Beast (W)

Rexxar and Misha's Basic Attacks increase the damage of the next Misha, Charge! by 40%, stacking up to 400% bonus.

Level 16

Critical Care (E)

Removed

Developer Comments: Our goals for Misha Rexxar were twofold: to streamline his control scheme as much as we could and to give his talents some love. All of Misha’s controls should now be centralized on the D button, which should make it easier overall to play the hero. While this does result in a tiny loss of control (Rexxar no longer has the ability to recall Misha to his side and to keep her in a passive state), we felt that overall this functionality was not that huge of a loss for Rexxar and was worth the gain of making his controls centered around one button instead of two. We also made Misha’s Movement Speeds during her various states more consistent so that she feels better when being commanded by Rexxar, and we’ve added some talents that should help better sell the fantasy of Rexxar and Misha working together to take down their prey. We’ve had a blast playing with the new and improved Rexxar, and hope that you enjoy it as much as we have!

LEVEL (TIER)

REXXAR TALENTS

1 (1)

Easy Prey (Passive)

Bird of Prey (Q)

Flare (Active)

4 (2)

Hungry Bear (Passive)

(!) Hunter-Gatherer (Passive)

Grizzled Fortitude (Passive)

Animal Husbandry (Passive)

7 (3)

Aspect of the Beast (W)

Crippling Talons (Q)

Taking Flight (Q)

10 (4)

Bestial Wrath

Unleash the Boars

—

—

13 (5)

Wildfire Bear (Passive)

Aspect of the Hawk (Q)

Dire Beast (W)

16 (6)

Thrill of the Hunt (Passive)

Primal Intimidation (Active)

Feign Death (Active)

20 (7)

Spirit Bond (R)

Kill Command (R)

Frenzy of Kalimdor (Passive)

Hardened Skin (Active)

(!) indicates a Questing Talent.

Italic text indicates a NEW Talent.

Bold text indicates a MOVED Talent.

Tassadar

Stats

Basic Attack

Damage reduced from 69 to 10

Attack speed increased by 400%

Tether range has been slightly increased

Added Functionality:

Your basic attacks are channeled and slow the target’s Movement Speed by 20%

Abilities

Oracle (Trait)

No longer costs Mana

Cooldown reduced from 40 to 30 seconds

Radius decreased by roughly 16%

Plasma Shield (Q)

Cooldown increased from 5 to 8 seconds

Duration increased from 5 to 8 seconds

Mana cost increased from 40 to 50

Shield amount increased from 342 to 550

Removed Functionality:

No longer gains 50% strength on allied Heroes

Added Functionality:

Now grants the target 20% Life Steal on Basic Attacks (while Shielded)

Psionic Storm (W)

Damage decreased from 55 to 44

Added Functionality:

Damage increases by 12% for each consecutive instance of damage

Dimensional Shift (E)

Cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds

Duration increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds

Added Functionality:

Now grants 25% Movement Speed for the duration

You can now cancel out of Dimensional Shift early by re-activating the hotkey (Default: E)

Archon (R)

Attack Damage increased from 111 to 175

Duration decreased from 12 to 10 seconds

Added Functionality:

Your Basic Attacks slow enemies by 40% for 1 second

Added Functionality:

Passively refreshes the cooldown of Dimensional Shift on activation

Removed Functionality:

No longer grants a generic Shield on activation

Added Functionality:

Now grants Tassadar a Plasma Shield on activation

Force Wall (R)

Range increased from 8 to 10

Added Functionality:

Passively increases the slow amount of Tassadar’s Basic Attacks from 20 to 30%

Basic Attacks can now bounce to two nearby enemy targets for 50% damage

Developer Comments: We absolutely love releasing reworks and this one was a long-time-coming, as Tassadar has had a bit of an identity crisis from the moment he stepped foot into the Nexus. We knew that the design direction and changes were going to need to be a bit more expansive in scope compared to most of our other reworks, but we did our best to keep him as true to his High Templar heritage as possible. Our goals were to embrace him as a true utility-based support mage. The new "Distortion Beam" Basic Attack should allow you to help peel for your allies as well as secure kills that would be otherwise unobtainable. Plasma Shield has gained baseline utility that will continue to empower Basic Attackers, while also offering more diverse talents in order to better react to enemy and ally compositions. Archon has been surgically buffed and given a passive reset for Dimensional Shift which should be great news for our old-school fans as we fully expect to see a resurgence of back-line infiltration play. Overall, we hope the changes reinvigorate our steadfast Tassadar players while integrating many new ones into the Khala. En Taro Tassadar.

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We present our ninth Heroes of the Storm Meta Tier List for the Garrosh patch of August 2017.
Our ninth Heroes of the Storm Meta Tier List for the month of August 2017 is here!

Welcome to Icy Veins's Meta Tier List for the Garrosh patch. The goal if of this list is to try and detail game's current metagame state. The prime goal of such lists is to inform players regarding popular and trending team composition drafting strategies (i.e. the drafting metagame). Although tier listings are generally the product of balance, many factors come into play when discussing the relative perceived strengths of heroes, including player regions, maps, play style, skill level, and, of course, personal perception. As such, any tier list—including this very one—should never be interpreted as gospel, but rather, as a guide to better grasp what to expect with regards to typical drafting experiences. One useful application of such lists is to allow you know which heroes to look out for in terms of practice and counterplay, ultimately improving your knowledge of the game.

Using the list
As stated above, tier lists are easy to mistake for gospel. As new strategies are discovered and experimented with, so changes the perception of the relative strengths of each hero. Tier lists still prove to be useful as a snapshot of player expectations in terms of drafting. Although it is generally considered preferable to focus on high tier heroes (Prime and Core tiers), it is important to note that Heroes of the Storm's wild character and map designs make it so that any given hero's tier position is prone to fluctuate depending on the situation at hand.
One classic example of such is that of Kerrigan on the Infernal Shrines map. Although we currently judge her to be a mid-tier hero, her drafting priority shoots up to first-pick or first-ban material on this specific map due to the nature of its objective. Certain heroes also synergise so well with each other that the sole fact of having the opportunity of drafting them together is generally enough to increase their potential. Tassadar and Tracer, for instance, are generally nightmarish to deal with for many. There are too many examples of these interactions to reasonably produce here, but we invite you to consult our guides to know exactly where and when each hero shines. The guides have been linked in the lists below for your convenience - just click any of the hero names to access them.
A ↑ next to a hero's name means its tier list position has increased since the previous month whereas a ↓ means just the opposite. Additionally, a + or - sign indicates short-to-medium term predictions (which is to say, about a month) for tier increase(s) or decrease(s), respectively. These are often updated after significant balance patches and/or when clear trends are emerging.
If you're newer to the game, also consider visiting our glossary for a comprehensive list of discrete Heroes of the Storm terms.

Prime Tier
Warrior
Assassin
Support
Specialist
Anub'arak
Genji
Uther
-
Stitches↑
Greymane↑
Tassadar↑
Malthael
Prime tier heroes are considered to be extremely strong in all situations, and show no obvious weakness. They are very often banned or picked right away, as they generally dictate the pace of most matches.

Core Tier
Warrior
Assassin
Support
Specialist
Arthas
Falstad
Auriel
Nazeebo
Dehaka
Gul'dan-
Rehgar
Sylvanas
Diablo+
Li-Ming
Stukov
Xul↑
E.T.C.↑
The Butcher↑
Garrosh (new!)
Valla
Sonya
Zeratul
Varian (Tank)
Core tier heroes are strong in a wide variety of situations and have few counter-picking possibility. They should form the core of your team, and be picked after Prime Tier heroes have been distributed.

Bottom Tier
The Lost Vikings
Bottom tier Heroes are deemed to be either considerably weaker than the majority of other Heroes, or much more challenging to play properly. Although they may situationally shine, these Heroes are generally avoided by most players.

Metagame assessment
Greetings. Regulars may have noticed that the changes featured in this month's list have been more aggressive than usual. In essence, I feel like a clear metagame is finally begin to emerge after a slew of important changes, making it easier for me to pinpoint notable trends. And so, the result is a volatile tier list that should be extremely stable next month. Shall we begin?
I like Garrosh quite a bit, and I can't help but feel that the combined novelty and high skill cap skew his win rates towards the bottom of the roster. Case in point: his Master level win rates are nearly 12% higher than his Bronze level win rates. This is a case of Medivh all over again; however, whereas both Garrosh and Medivh did start at 30-something-percent win rates, Garrosh has been steadily climbing over the week. Both Diablo and Stitches are currently very popular picks, and Garrosh provides similar utility through his Groundbreaker + Wrecking Ball combo. Talents to watch out for are undoubtedly Warbreaker (reduced cooldown on Groundbreaker, level 1) and Intimidation (40% reduced attack speed on targets hit by Groundbreaker, level 7), which allow Garrosh to neuter basic attack reliant heroes much earlier than other heroes can. Into the Fray (can use Wrecking Ball on allies once every 30 seconds, level 7) is also an interesting one as it gives Garrosh his own version of Cleanse and the ability to say 'hey, you're mispositioned, stop it', which should come in handy whenever an ally is, well, not standing where they should be. It also breaks Lamb to the Slaughter on top of a few other nasty heroic abilities, which is great.
Stitches has finally ascended to godhood, and although I was slow to give him a seat in the core tier, repeated high level hero league bans and a high amount of tournament play speak for themselves. As stated last month, the Slam build remains an easy way of topping the damage charts all while being difficult to kill. Gorge has also seen an upsurge in popularity, and particularly on maps where combat tends to happen close by fortifications, such as Dragon Shire, Tomb of the Spider Queen, Towers of Doom, et cetera. Couple this with Falstad's Mighty Gust, and you have a game winning combo that isn't all that difficult to pull off.
I don't have much to say about Greymane that isn't self-obvious; Cursed Bullet is a great choice in a meta where healthy tanks are popular, though Go for the Throat is also re-emerging for blowup team compositions, thanks to its reliable damage and gap closing feature, on top of its ability to reset.
To shoehorn last month's tier list again, I made a snarky comment about Tassadar always being either too strong or too weak. Right now, he enables two borderline heroes–Illidan and Tracer–on top of providing flexible heroic ability choices for both more defensive and blowout team compositions. His versatility just makes him never feel like a bad pick, and Oracle keeps the Zeratuls at bay as a bonus.
E.T.C. is this month's surprise as players sift through forgotten heroes to solo tank, provide potential mapwide mobility through Stage Dive, and just generally provide reliable crowd control. You'll note a sore lack of interruption from a lot of high tier picks as well, making Mosh Pit about as good as it'll get.
We haven't seen The Butcher be more than a one trick for nearly two years now, but the brute is back in force, thanks for buffs several players have misinterpreted as nerfs. I suspect, however, that some of his newfound success may be due to players having some difficulty adapting to his new gank-heavy playstyle and generally counterpicking him. Shall the Brightwings, Cassias, and Li Lis of the world rise up to the challenge?
Xul has continued to perform well, and although he is the second least popular core tier hero (right behind Zeratul), he will keep on being effective on Blackheart's Bay, Dragon Shire, Gardens of Terror, Infernal Shrines, and Towers of Doom simply due to the importance of having a strong split pusher on these maps. Just make sure you go for Skeletal Mages, which tend to block a lot of those abilities strong tanks currently rely upon to get picks, on top of being generally disruptive.

Lost Cavern is a single-lane battleground that has been chosen for this week's brawl! Complete three matches to earn a Loot Chest.
Blizzard (Source)
This week’s brawl is Lost Cavern! It’s all-out mayhem on our single-lane battleground – Lost Cavern. Queue up, choose your Hero, and try to best to bring down the enemy Core!

Rules:
Shuffle pick - Choose from one of three Heroes before entering the battle.
Standard play - no talent or level restrictions.
The first team to destroy the enemy Core wins!
Rewards:
Complete three matches of Lost Cavern to earn a Loot Chest!
Find out more about the Heroes Brawl game mode on our Heroes Brawl site; and as always, you can find more information on this week’s Brawl by clicking the Brawl Info button at the bottom of the play screen when preparing to queue for the Brawl game mode.

It's time to get hyped! Gamescom 2017 is just over a week away and even though Blizzard hasn't shared the full schedule yet, we'll get to see Team expert battling it out against Team Liquid on August 23 from 14:00 to 15:30 CEST.
Both teams played against each other during Western Clash and Team expert easily defeated Team Liquid with a final score of 3:0. Will they be able to take revenge? Another interesting match is a YouTuber clash between Team ApeCrime & Team PietSmiet. Stay tuned for a full schedule.
Blizzard (Source)
Whether you’re an esports fanatic or just love live MOBA action, you’ll definitely want to catch our two epic show matches either in person or via live stream.
Team expert vs. Team Liquid
Some of the very best players in the world will be battling it out at gamescom, as Team Liquid and Team expert face off on Wednesday, August 23 from 14:00 to 15:30 CEST.

Team expert
Based in Germany, Team expert is known for executing unique drafts and utilizing niche heroes. Their roster is well accustomed to success—they finished second in the recent 2017 HGC Western Clash, and are currently ranked number two in the HGC Europe standings.

Team Liquid
Team Liquid boasts the longest running five-player roster in the HGC, and it just so happens that four of them are German! They’re sure to have plenty of local support at gamescom, which may be just what they need after recent battles with Team Expert. Their Heroes Showdown opponents knocked them out of the HGC Western Clash earlier this month. Can they take revenge in Cologne?

Team ApeCrime vs. Team PietSmiet
Get ready for the most legendary YouTuber clash this year! German music and comedy team ApeCrime will challenge gaming personalities PietSmiet on Friday, August 25 from 11:45 to 13:15. Be sure to follow along and find out who’ll be victorious in this battle of the titans.
Team ApeCrime
With more than five million subscribers over two channels on YouTube, ApeCrime is sure to have their fair share of fans in the gamescom crowd! Well known for their awesome music and hilarious videos, Cengiz Dogrul, Andre Schiebler, and Jan-Christoph Meyer will offer some top-notch entertainment on stage. With Michael ‘KendricSwissh’ Kratzel and Walter ‘MFPallytime’ Hopkins rounding out their team, they’re sure to bring a few surprises to the Nexus.
Team PietSmiet
PietSmiet has been producing gaming-related content since 2011, including “Let’s Play” videos, “Best Of” roundups, and their “Let’s Ask” series. More than two and half million fans follow their channels on YouTube, and they’re sure to earn a few more at gamescom. Chris Stachelhaus, Jonathan Apelt, and Sebastian Lenßen will be joined by esports expert Derek ‘DunkTrain’ Arabian and “Tryhard for Good” streamer Kevin ‘Kev1n’ Rubiszewski.